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915 


Mental Gymnastics, 


— OR — 

LESSONS ON IflEMORY. 


millihir,, :m. id.. 


— AUTHOR OF — 


Ltje in Other Worlds; Plain Talk to the Sick; Mistakes of 
Doctors; Laconografhy; etc. 


' vfcl # r CGhn? 


CHICAGO, 

1885. 



AUTHOR’S NOTE. 


The author of this treatise on Mental Gymnastics 
or Memory Culture, agrees to furnish written instruc¬ 
tions to all who purchase it, if anything appears ob¬ 
scure and is not fully understood. 

Copies will be mailed, with written instructions, 
on the receipt of the price, $1.00. 

Address 

ADAM MILLER, M. D., 

45 Elizabeth Street, 

. , Chicago, III. 


Entered according to Act of Congress. Copyright secured in the year 
18S5, by Adam Miller. 



PREFACE. 


The author of this work does not claim to have 
originated an entirely new system for the cultivation 
of the memory. But he does claim to have simpli¬ 
fied some of the old and complex systems, contained 
in books now out of print; or in large and expensive 
volumes, not in the reach of those most interested in 
this subject. 

Several small works have been published, based 
on the writings of Prof. Francis Fauvel-Gourand, and 
almost literally copied from his work without giving 
him credit for his arduous labors in this department 
of literature. Writers on this subject have left it in 
such obscurity, that persons, after purchasing the 
books, have laid them away as useless, because they 
could not understand the few brief and indefinite 
sketches called memory lessons. 

The following pages have been arranged with 
new and original formulas by the author, more with 
a view to instruct the student in the noble faculty of 
memory, than to embellish the pages with fine lan¬ 
guage and obscure expressions. 

We aim to make the subject as plain as possible, 
and to bring it within the comprehension of ordinary 
minds, so as to lead the student from the first simple 
lessons to the more complex without mental strain or 
effort, and by these mental gymnastics gradually to 
increase the strength of the memory. Instead of a 
( 3 ) 



IV 


PREFACE. 


severe strain it will be a mental recreation and amuse¬ 
ment, and will prepare the mind for more arduous 
labors in other departments of study. 

The object is to bring the subject within the reach 
of all classes, and to make the study interesting and 
profitable to all. There is no business in life, and no 
department in literature, where a well cultivated 
memory may not be turned to a good account. 

Our capacity for any kind of business is increased 
in proportion as our memory is able to retain the 
details of our business. 

These lessons are valuable to those who are study¬ 
ing" any system of short-hand writing, and especially 
to the system called Laconography. 

The author, now advanced beyond the ordinary 
years allotted to men in this life, has so cultivated his 
memory, that it is much stronger and more reliable 
than it was in the earlier years of his life, and all as 
the result of the training recommended in these pages. 
A well employed and active mind and a good 
memory well stored with useful knowledge are very 
important factors in human happiness. 

While it does not bring back the years that have 
passed into the future, it lifts the mind above the 
wasting influences of time to a great extent, and often 
turns the gloomy winter of old age into the warmth 
and brightness of a summer’s morning. It will help 
to smooth the wrinkles of a furrowed brow, and give 
intelligent expression to the eye that is growing dim 
with age. Try the process we recommend and you 
will be satisfied. A. M. 


CHAPTER I. 


GENERALREMARKS ON MEMORY. 

Without memory our lives would be a dreary 
waste. The past would be a blank. The present a 
fretful and perplexing hour. Without a recollection 
of the past we would find very little encouragement 
in looking into the future. With the storehouse of our 
memories well filled with past events, many pleasant 
scenes of our past lives are brought in review before us. 
Even our sufferings and disappointments, when rec¬ 
ollected in connection with the relief that may have 
come to us, and our deliverance from the apparent 
accidents and dangers to which we found ourselves 
exposed, all have a tendency to encourage us for the 
future. A recollection that the same or similar help 
may come to us in the future that sustained us in the 
past, will enable us to move forward in the struggles 
of life and trust in the same powers and forces for 
protection that sustained us in the past. All persons 
are endowed with this faculty, but some in a much 
higher degree than others. While there are natural 
endowments, and some have much better memories 
than others, it is undeniably true that by neglecting to 
exercise and cultivate this faculty it becomes enfeebled, 
while, on the other hand, by a proper course of train- 
( 5 ) 



6 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


ing and a systematic exercise, the memory may be 
strengthened beyond the highest conceptions of those 
who have not made suitable and systematic efforts in 
this direction. The reason why many persons in ad¬ 
vanced years complain of a feeble memory is an in¬ 
attention to the common concerns of life, and a wantof 
effort to treasure up the ordinary occurrences. The 
idea of many that because they have lived a certain 
number of years and arrived at an age where the 
mental faculties generally become enfeebled, has 
caused many to feel prematurely old, and a general 
loss of bodily and mental vigor follows a determina¬ 
tion that it must be so, because it is the natural order 
of things. Many live and finally go down to their 
graves without being aware of the wonderful unde¬ 
veloped powers they possessed, which, if they had 
been properly cultivated, would have contributed 
much to the support of the physical organism. There 
is such an intimate connection between the body and 
the mind that the lack of a proper treatment of the 
one will unfavorably affect the other. 

We have gymnastics for physical culture and find, 
from experience and observation, that much is gained 
by a proper exercise in muscular development. 

The memory is more susceptible to improvement 
by proper exercise and training, than the body. It is 
that which possesses the body and is destined to sur¬ 
vive its final dissolution and decay. The dweller in 
the house is of more importance than the house, so 
the mind of man, of which memory is a part, is of more 
importance than the body in which it dwells. 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


7 


We talk of a mind well stored with knowledge, 
but we must not forget that memory is the store¬ 
keeper, and not only holds the key to the storehouse 
but arranges all the shelves and drawers and the dif¬ 
ferent compartments for storing away the treasure ac¬ 
cumulated by mental efforts. The mind selects and 
brings in the treasures, sometimes secures them by 
hardest toil and perilous efforts. The memory takes 
the treasures and stores them away on different 
and appropriate shelves, or in different drawers, and 
so marks them and the place where they are de¬ 
posited, that they can be looked at any time when 
they are wanted. 

What advantage would we have in the accumula¬ 
tion of wealth in silver and gold and diamonds and 
other precious things that make men rich, if we 
brought them home and handed them over to our 
steward or servant for safe keeping, and he put them 
where they never could be found? Suppose a man 
had millions on millions of treasures hidden in this 
way that he nor no one else could ever find; what ad¬ 
vantage would they be to him? None. He might 
say I have lost them because I have not provided a 
proper place to store them away. I had no system¬ 
atic arrangement in my treasure house, and now they 
are forever beyond my reach. In this way, from a 
want of a properly arranged house to store away the 
treasures of the mind, thousands of precious gems 
have been lost. We may deeply regret the loss, but 
this will not return to us the lost treasures. The 
only safe and proper way is to guard against these 


8 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


losses in the future. Why have safes with various 
compartments been invented with bars and bolts and 
locks, but to protect our goods from the hands of the 
thief and the robber, and also with a view to have them 
at our command at a moment’s notice for our use. 

The thief of time is watching us every hour to 
snatch away the accumulations of our mental toil. 
Much has been taken from us and laid in the grave 
of oblivion, but there are still vast outlying fields 
where we can gather more, and there are means pro¬ 
vided to keep our gathered treasures securely. 

But some one advanced in years may say, “I am too 
old to commence building a storehouse to treasure up 
my mental wares.” You need not build a new house. 
The old one is good enough if you will only go to 
work and make some repairs; and when you begin 
this repairing process you will be surprised to find 
how easy the task will be. The sweeping out of a 
few dark corners of the old building will soon throw- 
light over other parts. 

The opening of a few windows will let in the light 
and make everything cheerful about the old home¬ 
stead where the higher nature has long dwelt in 
gloom and sadness because the house was so much 
out of repair. 

How sad it is to think that thousands of persons, 
when they arrive at the age of forty-five or fifty 
years, think that their time for improvement is past, 
and under this impression they neglect mental culture, 
and with this neglect the body soon becomes like a 
house uncared for. 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


9 


We build the house we live in, that is, our inner and 
higher nature to such an extent controls organic 
matter so as to build up and nourish those parts most 
suited for mental activity, where no other abnormal 
or disturbing agencies interfere. This is especially 
true in reference to the growth and development of the 
brain, which is the seat of mental power. Proper 
training not only improves the mind but enlarges the 
dwelling place where the mind resides, acts, and 
operates. 

The bright, expressive and speaking eye; the ele¬ 
vated forehead; the intelligent features;all indicate an 
intelligent working power or force superintending 
the material organization. This working force in 
the intellectual realm is under the control of the 
human will. If we determine that the mind shall lie 
dormant and the memory shall become feeble and 
inactive from a want of proper exercise, the inevitable 
results will follow. On the other hand, if we 
determine that the memory shall be retentive, and 
that the shelves in our memory’s storehouse shall 
keep our deposited treasures, we have only to 
keep these shelves and drawers in good order, and 
have our deposits so marked and labeled as to find them 
at any time we may wish to use them. If we can 
not immediately find the key to unlock our repository 
and find the gems of thought, and all the beautiful 
and useful things of the past, we must tie a string to 
the treasure and keep the string in view, and when 
we get bewildered and confused we can follow up the 
string or wind it up into a ball, till it leads up to our 


10 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


repository, and to the very drawer or shelf where our 
treasure may be found. If we have many shelves in 
memory’s storehouse, and a great variety of different 
things stowed away, and these of different qualities* 
and require many strings by which to trace our way 
to our hidden treasures, we can very easily attach a 
mark or place a label on the end of each string, each 
separate mark directing up to the object we wish to 
find. 

There are many plain and simple things that the 
mind may be placed on, and that the memory can re¬ 
tain, that may well be compared to a single thread, 
and by association of one thing with another, either 
from a striking similarity or dissimilarity, the thread 
may be followed by winding it into a ball or unwind¬ 
ing it from a ball. 

As an illustration of following up the thread; we 
will commence with a white woolen thread: The 
wool leads us to the sheep. The sheep is an em¬ 
blem of innocence; here we come into a large field, 
innocence, playfulness, pastures, flocks, woolen gar¬ 
ments, cold weather, blankets, carpets and ornamented 
parlors. Or, if we wish to run in another direction, 
the thread will lead us to mutton, to a good dinner; to 
the dinner party; to the names of those present; to 
their conversation; and many other things we may 
wish to bring in review before us. 

A silk thread will lead us to the silkworm, the 
mulberry tree, the manufacturing establishment, the 
silk dress, the beautiful lady that we saw wearing it, 
her sparkling eye, her wit, her diamonds, her language? 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


11 


home, fortunes or misfortunes, all from the end of a 
small silk thread. 

A cotton thread will lead us to the cotton fields, the 
spinning and weaving, the factory girls employed in 
the mills, the great variety of cotton goods, the sails 
of ships, a trip across the ocean, the commerce of dif¬ 
ferent and distant countries, the ties that bind nations 
in one common brotherhood. 

A linen thread will conduct us back to the field 
where flax grows, to the spinning and weaving of 
linen, to Irish linen, to the thousands of toilers who 
produce the beautiful fabric, to the weaver of the 
linen, to the rags of worn out garments, to the paper 
mill that manufactures the rags to paper, to the beau¬ 
tiful white letter paper on which our correspondence 
to loved ones may be written. 

A hemp string leads to the fields, the rope-walks 
where it is manufactured into cords and ropes, to the 
rigging of a ship, hauling and directing the sails, 
carrying the commerce of the world to their destined 
ports. 

A red, or scarlet thread, will lead us to something 
fiery or intense, ardent, high tempered, wars and 
bloodshed, or such things as will excite or inflame 
the passions. 

A blue thread will lead one’s mind up to the pale 
blue sky, in which the clouds are floating and behind 
which the stars and planets appear to us to be pursu¬ 
ing their nightly march; we think of distance and mag¬ 
nitude, of time measured off by their revolutions, and 
in bewildering amazement we are led to the infinite 


2 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


Power that controls and directs all things from an in¬ 
finite purpose. 

A white thread is the emblem of innocence and 
purity; it leads us to the lily of the valley, flourishing 
near by the Rose of Sharon. This will bring to the 
mind a train of beautiful and lovely things. How de¬ 
lightful in the stillness of the night to take hold of the 
beautiful white thread and begin to wind it up into a 
ball or follow it back along the path we have traveled 
until we get back to the days of youth and childhood, 
and have the innocent amusements of our younger 
years pass in review before us. 

The tear of sorrow may start from the eye at the 
recollection of friends long since gone from us; but 
even this opening of the fountains of affection may 
bring relief in the hour of affliction, 

A black thread may lead us into the dark, but dark¬ 
ness is not always dismal. It is necessary for us as 
well as light. Long winter evenings bring us many 
comforts that we could not have under the rays of 
the burning sun. It is true we might travel along the 
line of a dark thread into dismal and gloomy regions, 
but we should always prefer to go along the line of 
the pleasant and the beautiful to feed the memory on 
that which will give us higher views of our lives and 
destinies. 

The questions may arise in the minds of some 
“What will be the advantage of all this?” “What 
can I do without an active memory to follow up these 
different threads?” We can easily see where the ad¬ 
vantage of such a mental exercise is found. It is an 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


13 


effort to build up and strengthen the memory, or pre¬ 
pare the different shelves in this storehouse for reposi¬ 
tories of our mental wares. Instead of leaving the 
mind a vacant blank and tossing restless upon our 
beds in the stillness of the night, we may start the 
wheels of memory running backward over the past, 
and stop at the different way stations with such 
delight and pleasure that we will soon be lulled to 
sleep, perchance to dream some pleasant dreams, and 
awake with better opinions of life than when our 
minds were blank and the shelves of our memories’ 
storehouse in a dilapidated condition. 

Now we would advise any one in lonely hours to 
take hold of the end of a string, one of those we have 
referred to; the white for instance, and start back in 
a contemplative mood and stop to linger a while, 
around every point of innocence, beauty and purity. 
Then let it stretch out into the future. Follow it up 
and on until it reaches within the very gates of the 
celestial city, or, if you do not wish to go quite so far 
just now, then take another thread and follow it along 
the line of which it is emblematical. Do not hasten 
too fast from one point to another. When you find 
some event in your past life linger around it as long as 
pleasant memories continue to come up, in group or 
single, and then pass on to other points; and in this 
way the scenes of the past will come up in succession 
as old associates that had appeared lost to you, and 
entirely faded from your memory. To those who 
have never made an effort to recollect the scenes of 
the past by such associations it will be surprising to 


14 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


find the mind pictures like beautiful panoramas pass 
in review before them. 

The memory is like the blacksmith’s arm, which 
has grown strong from using it. There is no faculty 
of the human mind so susceptible of improvement as 
the memory, and none so much neglected. 

Some persons are naturally endowed with good 
memories while others are deficient, and must depend 
on culture for improvement. 

Before letters were invented for the purpose of re¬ 
cording the events of life and our historic narratives, 
the memory must have been much stronger than it is 
now. The transactions and constantly recurring 
events of life had to be carried in the memory instead 
of recorded in books. 

Many of the historical narratives now found in 
books of history, both sacred and profane, must have 
been preserved in the storehouse of memory for ages 
before they were permanently recorded in books, now 
found in our libraries. 

There are many marvelous instances on record of 
extraordinary memories among the ancients. It would 
be out of place here to enter into a detailed account 
of the different prodigies of memory. Speeches 
were committed from once having been heard, 
lectures, poems, and the most difficult problems the 
human mind can grapple with, have been retained in 
the memory from having only once heard them re¬ 
peated. But these are rare instances, and not a com¬ 
mon inheritance of mankind. The amount of mem¬ 
ory we have is a natural endowment, or a working 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


15 


capital on which we can improve to a marvelous ex¬ 
tent. With every advancement we make we increase 
our stock in trade, and add to o.ur wealth which no 
thief can steal, and no wreck of earthly fortune can 
destroy. 

Many in advanced years can look back into the 
past and still see some of the treasures in the store¬ 
house of memory, laid there in their youthful days; but 
with regret have to confess that recent events soon 
pass from their memories, and that they have no 
power to retain them. These persons may recollect 
the beautiful flowers that grew in well cultivated gar¬ 
dens and fields; but these are now a desert waste 
from a want of proper cultivation. 

The mental effort in associating one thing with 
something that has a correspondence with some his¬ 
toric event, so as to call to mind not only the event 
itself but furnish a word that will give the exact and 
unmistakable date of the event, must have in itself 
a good effect on the memory. 

It is this habit of associating one thing with another 
that gives a healthy exercise to the brain, by which 
its functions are strengthened and also has a salutary 
effect on the entire physical human organism. The 
first symptoms of decline are seen in the loss of 
mental vigor. This affects very unfavorably the en¬ 
tire nervous system, and the intimate connection 
between the nerves and the muscular structure soon 
causes a general breaking down of all the physical 
energies. 

There are many persons whose mental vigor is as 


16 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


strong from sixty-five to seventy-five years of age as 
in their youthful days; but upon inquiry it will be 
found that all such persons have kept their minds 
actively employed and cultivated, especially the 
faculty of remembering things. 

In conversation with a lady of superior intelligence 
and attainments, not long since, she told me that in 
consequence of a long and severe illness she lost her 
memory. On her health returning she found she 
could not recollect the commonest events of life. At 
this she became alarmed and immediately commenced 
a systematic course of cultivating her memory. She 
now has a good memory, but told me, “It is all culti¬ 
vated.” Had she not been endowed with a strong 
will power, and superior intelligence, what would 
have been the result? The answer to this question is 
plain. This lady, thus deprived of her memory) 
would have relapsed into a state of imbecility, border¬ 
ing on idiocy, if she had not determined to regain her 
lost memory by a systematic effort to obtain this de¬ 
sirable end. 

The restoring process of the wonderfully con¬ 
structed organism must not be attempted by a severe 
strain on the body or mind; but by a gentle, easy, and 
systematic training. This cannot be forced by slash¬ 
ing and driving; but by a process that will conserve 
the remaining forces and add new powers to those 
already possessed. 

Close observation and experience have taught us 
valuable lessons on this subject. 

There are some persons now in advanced years 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


17 

with memories fully as strong, if not stronger than it 
was in the earlier days of their lives. They can look 
back on the line along which they have traveled, and 
not only see the wrecks and ruins of thousands that 
have prematurely fallen in their journey from a want 
of attention to some plain rules that should govern 
our twofold nature of matter and spirit, or body and 
mind; but also see where their own feet had ventured 
near the precipice where thousands have fallen. 

It is not intended here to convey the idea that we 
can make ourselves immortal, so far as our existence 
on this earth is concerned, by memory, or mental cul¬ 
ture. It is simply purposed to show that by proper 
observance of certain laws we may prolong our lives, 
and make them more pleasant to ourselves, and more 
agreeable to others. 

When men have valuable machinery or mechanical 
contrivances which they run for profit or pleasure 
they will carefully notice every symptom of disturbs 
ance in the movement of the different wheels, spring- 
and weights, well knowing that if repairs are not 
promptly attended to the whole will soon run down 
and become a mass of useless material. Why not 
watch with eager eye the marvelous workings of this 
complex structure of the human organism which can 
only retain the higher or spiritual power by keeping 
in a good running condition. 

The structure of the nervous system in the human 
constitution contains in itself a world of wonders. 
These channels of our vital forces have been laid with 
a master hand and their healthy operations have been 


18 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


left to our guardian care, and we are, to a certain ex¬ 
tent, responsible for this trust. In mechanics we 
know that machinery is liable to rust and become use¬ 
less from a want of proper attention; even our finest 
ornaments need occasional burnishing and polishing 
to keep their brilliancy and luster. Everything orna¬ 
mental and useful demands attention to keep it in 
perfect order. How much more should we be con¬ 
cerned to keep the noblest faculty of our higher 
nature in an active condition. 

When we awake to a sense of our duty to our¬ 
selves, and learn how to take care of and preserve 
that which is a natural endowment of humanity, we 
shall hear less complaining about the loss of memory 
and its consequent annoyance to us in daily life. 

We speak of what we know. These rules which 
we recommend to others are not the wild dreams of a 
fanciful imagination. They are the result of careful 
observation and study for many years. Their appli¬ 
cation can only result in good to all who make 
the experiment for themselves. 

The treasures of the intellect are of more value 
than all the hoarded accumulations of material wealth. 
We carry them with us, not only through this life, 
but to the believer in a conscious existence in a future 
state it amounts to more than a mere conjecture that 
these accumulated treasures of useful knowledge will 
be a rich inheritance to us in that unending state of 
existence where there will be an endless progression in 
knowledge, and increasing knowledge will give in¬ 
creasing power. 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


19 


The cultivation of the memory can only be accom¬ 
plished by a systematic effort on a well-defined course 
of instruction, and following certain rules of associa¬ 
tion connecting one thing with another, so as to find 
the names, places, and properties of things by attach¬ 
ing them to something which we can follow along the 
line of association. 


CHAPTER II. 


PHONETIC AND HOMOPHONETIC WORDS FOR FIGURES. 

We commence with the letters of the alphabet 
which, in their construction, resemble figures, and can 
be used for numbers to any desirable extent. Figures, 
when standing promiscuously represent nothing, only 
as they are used as numerators of objects, or to ex¬ 
press numbers. It is difficult to retain figures in the 
memory, especially where large numbers are pre¬ 
sented, but words and sentences representing 
figures can easily be retained in the memory. In 
this way we can place numbers, dates, chronological 
tables, periods of important events in history; by 
selecting a familiar word that gives us the desired 
number. Familiar phrases may be selected to repre¬ 
sent any desirable amount of figures, as high as the 
mind is capable of running them. 

Several systems have been invented in which letters 
were used for numbers; but no one has approached 
so near to a complete system as Prof. Gouraud. 

With some variations, we adopt his classification of 
words and articulation sounds corresponding with 
the different letters to represent figures and numbers. 

The resemblance between the letters and figures 
will help the memory to retain them. 

(20) 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


21 


We select letters from our English alphabet to 
epresent the figures 

°> b 2 > 3, 4, 5> 6, 7, 8, 9. 

z, t, n, m, r, 1, ch, k, f, p, 

The similarity between the figures and the letters 
may be easily recognized. 

The first articulation of z is cipher or zero, and 
represents o. This, with all the other letters repre¬ 
senting figures, has the vowel e added to make the ar¬ 
ticulation complete. 

Z—or ze, is the first articulation of ^ero, or cipher o. 


T—or te, with one single stroke represents - - 1 

N—or ne, with two strokes represents - - - 2 
M—or me, with three strokes represents - - - 3 

R—or re, is the fourth letter of Jour - - 4 

L—or le, Roman numeration is 50 - - - - 5 

Ch—or che—c resembles the figure 6 - - - 6 

K—or ke, form of key upside down, resembles 7 7 

F—or fe, the written f like an elongated 8 - - 8 

P—or pe, inverted, looks like 9 ----- 9 


In addition to these simple articulations of single 
letters, we have other letters and combinations of 
letters that resemble these sounds and are articulated 
accordingly. 

The letter d resembles the sound of t, and is articu¬ 
lated the same. The letter j, when inverted, bears 
some resemblance to the figure 6, and also in sound 
resembles the ch. This, and the soft sound of g, are 
articulated like che , and represent the figure 6. 

The s, as an apostrophe, in the possessive case, is 
not articulated. The t, before h, keeps the value of 




22 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


t. In words where the c takes the sound of k, it has 
the articulation of k. 

In all words where the vowels a, o, u follow c, it 
takes the articulation of k, and when the sound of k 
is distinctly heard it represents the figure 7, but in 
words where the k is silent, as in knowledge , knight , 
knife , etc., it has no numerical value. The hard 
sound of g, as in go, give, good, gloom, glad, etc., is 
articulated like k, and represents 7. The same in 
words ending in ing. The b has a sound resembling 
p, and the sound is produced-by the same motion of 
the lips, and therefore represents the figure 9. 

The vowels and the letters h, w, andy have no nu¬ 
merical value. In all combinations of letters where any 
of these sounds are distinctly recognized they are ar¬ 
ticulated as figures, according to the rules above 
stated. 

For instance, in cases where the ph has the sound 
of f, as in phosphorus, photograph, Philip, the p 
loses its distinct sound and the combination with h 
gives the sound of f, and represents the figure 8. 


PHONETIC SOUND. 

The addition of the vowel e to the letters articulated 
in numbers gives the phonetic sounds of 

te, ne, me, re, le, che, ke, fe, pe, ce. 

7 > 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, o. 

To these we add 

che 6, ge 7, ghe, que 7, ve, phe 8, be 9, ce o. 

Where two identical letters come together in 
words such as mall , full , matter , will, mill , the t w 



LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


23 


letters are articulated as one, me le 35, fe le 
85, me, te, re, 3.14, le 5, me le 35. 

Where two similar letters occur with two distinct 
sounds, both sounds are articulated into figures and 
have their numerical value. 

Th» word suggest is translated ge, che, se, te, 7, 
6,0, 1. While accident will be translated ke, se, de, 
ne, te, 7, o, 1, 2, 1. The same rule is observed in 
compound words having two similar letters joined by 
a hyphen, as in book-binder, be, ke, be, ne, de, re, 

979 2I 4* 

In words where the t occurs, but has no distinct 
sound, it is of no numerical value, as in watch, 
match, latch, che 6, me, che 36, le, che, 56. 

These rules, with some variation, are according to 
those laid down in Gouraud’s Philosophical Classifi¬ 
cation of Homophonic words of the English lan¬ 
guage, and with a little attention will be easily un¬ 
derstood. 


CHAPTER III. 


FIGURES REPRESENTED BY LETTERS AND HOMO- 
PHONETIC SOUNDS. 

The following table gives words for numbers 
from i to ioo. 

The rule for representing figures by words, once 
understood, will enable us to represent any number 
of figures in statistical tables by word formulas, or to 
associate some object with any of these numbers, so 
as to recollect it in order, and in the numbers we asso¬ 
ciate with the object. 


1 Hat 

17 Deck 

33 Mummy 

49 Harp 

2 Honey 

18 Dove 

34 Merry 

50 Lass 

3 Home 

19 Top 

35 Mill 

51 Lady 

4 Hero 

20 News 

36 Match 

52 Lawn 

5 Hill 

21 Want 

37 Make 

53 Elm 

6 Hush 

22 None 

38 Move 

54 Lawyer 

7 Hack 

23 Name 

39 Ma P 

55 4 Lily 

8 Hoof 

24 Near 

40 Horse 

56 Lash 

9 Hip 

25 Nail 

41 Road 

57 Elk 

10 Woods 

26 Inch 

42 Rain 

58 Loaf 

11 Tide 

27 Ink 

43 Room 

59 Leap 

12 Tin 

28 Knife 

44 Warrior 

* 60 Cheese 

13 Tame 

29 Nap 

45 Rail 

61 Shoot 

14 Deer 

3c Mouse 

46 Irish 

62 Chain 

15 Dale 

31 Mouth 

47 Rock 

63 Gem 

16 Dish 

32 Man 

48 Roof 

64 Cherry 


(24) 



LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


25 


65 Jelly 74 Augur 


83 Foam 

84 Fur 
83 Fowl 

86 Fish 

87 Fig 


92 Pin 

93 Poem 


66 Shash 75 Gale 

67 Cheek 76 Cage 

68 Chaff 77 Keg 

69 Ship 78 Calf 

70 Kiss 79 Cab 

71 Cat 80 Face 

72 Gun 81 Foot 

73 Game 82 Fan 


89 Fop 

90 Posy 

91 Pad 


88 Fife 


100 Doses 


95 Bell 

96 Bush 

97 Bake 

98 Beef 

99 Poppy 


94 Bower 


The words in the above table are so arranged that 
it will be comparatively easy to commit them to 
memory. This task being accomplished, the figures 
which the words represent will be known as unmistak¬ 
ably as if they were seen. Any object to be remem¬ 
bered can be associated with the word giving the 
number, and by this process any number of promis¬ 
cuous objects can be remembered in the order in 
which they are repeated to us, from 1 up to 100. 

This table should be so committed to memory that 
when the figure is named the word can be given, and 
when the word is named the figure can be given. 

Words can be remembered when figures and num¬ 
bers would be forgotten. 

When the principle of representing words by fig¬ 
ures is clearly understood, any object or number of 
objects may be retained in the memory by the law of 
association. 


CHAPTER IV. 


MATHEMATICAL PROBLEMS. 

Moving the knight of the chess board to sixty-four 
different squares without going twice into the same 
square until it returns to the starting point at num¬ 
ber one. 

It is said that this interesting problem was solved 
by the celebrated mathematician, Euler, after a 
number of years’ constant experiment. 

The chess-board is numbered from one to sixty-four 


1 

2 

3 

4 

•5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

1 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

26 

27 

28 

29 

30 

31 

32 

33 

34 

35 

36 

37 

38 

39 

40 

41 

42 

43 

44 

45 

46 

47 

48 

49 

50 

51 

52 

53 

54 

55 

56 

57 

58 

59 

60 

61 

62 

63 

64 


(26) 






















LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


27 


The knight will have to pass into the squares in 
the following order, starting from number 1, move 
till he returns to the same number without stopping 
twice in the same square: 

!> 1 !> 5 . * 5 > 3 2 . 47 . 6 4 . 54 . 6o . 5 °. 35 . 4 1 . 26 . 9 . 3 . 
13. 7 . 2 4 > 39 . 5 6 . 62 > 45 . 3°, 20,37, 22 > 28 > 3 8 . 2I > 3 6 . 
19, 25, 10, 4, i 4 ,S, 23, 40, 55, 61, 51, 57, 42, 59, 53, 
63, 48, 31, 16, 6, 12, 2, 17, 34, 49, 43, 58, 52, 46, 29, 

44 . 2 7 . 33 . l8 > »• 

When the key to this problem is understood, which 
can easily be committed to memory, any one can re¬ 
tain all these figures in the memory in the order in 
which they are given above. 

The key to this problem will be found in another 
place. 

I have taken the following from Francis Fauvel- 
Gouraud’s Philosophical Classification of Homopho- 
netic Words of the English Language, and arranged a 
formula of words by which this array of figures can 
be committed and retained in the memory. 

Now the fact that a person past seventy-five years 
of age can accomplish this is proof that this system 
of memorizing is plain, and that the task is easily 
accomplished. 

SECOND PROBLEM OF THE CHESS-PLAY. 

It is said that Sysla, the Brahmin who invented the chess-play 
having caused such a high satisfaction to Sirham, the Indian 
King to whom he first presented it, the king told him to ask for 
any favor he might wish in recompense for his brilliant inven¬ 
tion. Sysla modestly asked for one single grain of xvheat, geo¬ 
metrically doubled upon itself from the first square of the chess¬ 
board down to the last, or sixty-fourth. The king, spurning 



28 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


-what he judged to be a nonsensical petition, unworthy of his 
royal munificence, ordered his grand treasurer to deliver up to 
Sysla one million of measures of wheat, or, upon the choice 
of Sysla, the sum of money equivalent to the price of the same 
number of measures. But the Brahmin having Insisted upon 
the sacredness of the royal words which had given him the 
choice of his recompense, upon examination it was found that 
the number of grains upon the sixty-fourth square of the chess¬ 
board would be 

Grains , 33S93487503 1 7401 0930; 
and as one pound {avoirdup is) of wheat, of a good quality, 
contains an average of 13184 grains, one American bushel, or 
sixty pounds, will contain 791,040 grains, and one ton or 2,000 
pounds, 26,368,000 grains. Divide the whole number of grains 
by these different proportions, and we find that it contains, in 
Pounds , 2570804573966475, 

Bushels , 42846742899441, 

Tons, 1 285402286983; 
which would be worth, at $1 the bushel, or $33.40 the ton, 
$4284674289944 r; 
which would load as many canal boats of 40 tons as 
32 1 35057 1 74; 
or as many vessels of 300 tons, as 

4284674289; 

which would make as many loaves of bread, of one pound, as 
2570804573966475; 

and which would feed all the population of the globe, or 1,000- 
000,000 of souls, at one pound a day, or 365 pounds a year for 
each, as long as 

7043 years, 209 days. 


EXPLANATION IN REFERENCE TO THE KEY TO THE 
PROBLEM OF THE KNIGHT OF THE CHESS-BOARD. 

A certain classification of words will give the homo- 
phonetic sounds, by which each figure or number may 
be readily distinguished. 

The words themselves mean nothing but the rep¬ 
resentatives of the numbers or figures passed over by 
the knight of the chess-board, from one to sixty-four. 
These key words are so arranged as to make it com- 



LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


29 


paratively easy to remember them in the order in 
which they stand. 

Bearing in mind that the vowels and the consonants 
h and w, have no numerical value, and other letters 
take the numerical value of the first class of letters that 
have a similarity to the figures, on account of their 
homophonetic analysis, or similarity in sound. The 
ch combination resembles g, or g soft represents the 
figure 6, while the hard sound of g, and the c when 
followed by a, o, or u, and in all cases where it takes 
the sound of k, represents the figure 7, while c, be¬ 
fore i, and in all cases where it has the sound of z, 
represents the zero or cipher o sound. 

The d, v, and b, represent the same figures as t, f, 
and p, from similarity of sound. Any letter repre¬ 
senting a figure has no numerical value when it is si¬ 
lent, or its sound is not distinctly heard, as t in watch. 
Here the ch sound is distinct, but the t sound indis¬ 
tinct, and represents 6, and not 16, as it would if the 
t had a distinct sound. The k, in knife, knock, 
etc., has no numerical value. The 1 , in calf, and in all 
words where it is silent, has no numerical value. In 
the word laugh we have the 1 and f sound, which 
represent 58. 

With these explanations we give the key to the 
problem of the knight of the chess-board. 

By the above explanation it will be an easy task 
to understand how the following words will conduct 
the knight to 64 different squares without passing 
twice into the same square. 


30 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


The key words are: 

Hat, tide, hill, dale, moon, rock, jewry, lawy 
Cheese, less, mill, rat, inch, pie. 

Home, time, key, honor, mop, lash. 

John, rule, miss, niece, make, none, enough. 
Move, not, much, top, nail. 

Does, your, dear, wife, name, rose, lily. 
Shoot, wild, elk. 

Run, leap, lame, Jim. 

Rough, maid, teach, joy. 

Dine, honey, dig, merry. 

Europe, army, love, lion, Irish, nap. 

Horror, Yankee, mummy, doff, hat. 


CHAPTER V. 


We have already referred to a proper training 
of the memory to give it strength, the same as we 
train our physical organism, to develop and strengthen 
the muscles of the body. The mind needs pleasant 
and healthful recreation, as much as the body. We 
do not send invalids to solitary wastes and deserts of 
inhospitable climates, where the mind is, in a man¬ 
ner, compelled to dwell on the gloomy surroundings, 
but we recommend them to the regions of sunshine; 
where there is a healthy atmosphere, and where there 
are pleasant, surroundings—where the fragrance of 
flow r ers and the melody of song and other cheering 
influences contribute much to build up and keep in 
good repair the tabernacle in which the mind dwells, 
and through which it acts. 

There is, undoubtedly, much truth in the system 
of treating the sick, commonly called “ mind cure,” 
or psychopathy, as some call it. The mind has a con¬ 
trolling influence over the body, and the physical con¬ 
ditions, over the mind, as well. As positive and nega¬ 
tive electrical conditions control the universal empire 
of matter, so mind in nature has a controlling influ¬ 
ence in the operations of nature. 

Science is just now looking for the first stepping 
stone in an effort to solve the mysterious problem of 
(30 


32 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


human life. One solid truth after another will finally 
be discovered, and humanity will reap the benefit of 
our advancement in knowledge. Persevering efforts 
will finally enable us to solve many of the apparent 
mysteries connected with our present mode of exist¬ 
ence. Nature furnishes us with an abundance of ob¬ 
jects for mental gymnastics, and we have only to pass 
through her vast Alhambra with our eyes open to see 
her beauties; and our ears open to hear her melodies; 
and our minds receptive to receive the impress which 
the Infinite Author of Nature is ready always to make 
upon the mind thirsting and longing for knowledge. 

The following, from Southey, is a difficult piece 
to remember by an ordinary effort of the memory. 
In the exercise of mental gymnastics it became an 
easy and interesting task, not only to commit the 
whole to memory, but to know each line from the 
number standing before it: 


THE CATARACT OF LODORE. 


I. 


2 . 

3* 

4- 

5- 
6 . 

7- 

8 . 

9- 

io. 


11 . 


Here it comes sparkling, 

And there it lies darkling; 

Here smoking and frothing, 

Its tumult and wrath in, 

It hastens along, conflicting and strong. 
Now striking and raging, 

As if a war waging, 

Its caverns and rocks among. 

Rising and leaping, 

Sinking and creeping, 

Swelling and flinging, 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


33 


12. Showering and springing, 

13. Eddying and whisking, 

14. Spouting and frisking, 

15. Turning and twisting, 

16. Around and around, 

17. Collecting, disjecting 

18. With endless rebound; 

19. Smiting and lighting, 

20. A sight to delightin; 

21. Confounding, astounding, 

22. Dizzying and deafening the ear with its 

sound. 

23. Reeding and speeding 

24. And shocking and rocking, 

25. And darting and parting, 

26. And threading and spreading, 

27. And whizzing and hissing, 

28. And dripping and skipping, 

29. And whitening and brightening, 

30. And quivering and shivering, 

31. And hitting and splitting, 

32. And shining and twining, 

33. And rattling and battling, 

34. And shaking and quaking, 

35. And pouring and roaring, 

36. And waving and raving, 

37. And tossing and crossing, 

38. And flowing and growing, 

39. And running and stunning, 

40. And hurrying and scurrying, 

41. And glittering and flittering, 


u 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


42. And gathering and feathering, 

43. And dinning and spinning, 

44. And foaming and roaming, 

45. And dropping and hopping, 

46. And working and jerking. 

47. And heaving and cleaving, 

48. And thundering and floundering, 

49. And falling and crawling and sprawling, 

50. And driving and riving and striving, 

51. And sprinkling and twinkling and wrink¬ 

ling, 

52. And sounding and rounding and bounding, 

53. And bubbling and troubling and doubling, 

54. Diving and gliding and sliding, 

55. And grumbling and rumbling and tumbling, 

56. And clattering and battering and shattering, 

57. And gleaming and steaming and streaming 

and beaming, 

58. And rushing and flushing, and brushing 

and gushing, 

59. And flapping and rapping and clapping 

and slapping, 

60. And curling and whirling and purling and 

twirling, 

61. Retreating and beating and meeting and 

sheeting, 

62. Delaying and straying and playing and 

spraying 

63. Advancing and prancing and glancing and 

dancing, 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


35 


64. Recoiling, turmoiling and toiling and boil¬ 

ing, 

65. And thumping and flumping and bumping 

and gumping, 

66. And dashing and flashing and splashing 

and clashing, 

67. And so never ending, but always descending, 

68. Sounds and motions forever are blending, 

69. All at once and all o’er, with a mighty 

uproar, 

70. And this is the way the water came down 

at Lodore. 


KEY TO THE SECOND PROBLEM OF THE CHESS 
BOARD. 

To make this as plain as possible, without putting 
the most ordinary capacity to a severe mental effort, 
we give the key words in connection with the figures 
so that the study of the problem will be as agreeable 
to the mental, as swinging dumb-bells, or any other 
exercise, is to the physical. Authors frequently have 
their subjects so completely fixed in their own minds 
that they take it for granted that the reader will see 
it, and understand it in an instant, but this is often 
not true. 

The key words representing figures can be re¬ 
tained in the memory as easily as if they expressed 
the most elegant sentiments in prose or poetry. 

To give 

The total in grains. We start with a gray 



LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


36 

mummy fop, more fog, less mud, curiosity, sweep, 
muss. 

The words in italics are the first links of the chain 
which the mind takes hold of. “We start ” signifies 
the commencement of the problem. The word gray 
suggests the idea of grains , and the key words give 
the figures as follows: me, me, fe, pe, me, re, fe, ge, 
le, se, me, te, ke, re, se, te, se, pe, me, se. 

Grains in a pound. 

He who undertakes to count the grains in one 
pound in a minute will have to be in haste, or be 
^ Timed over. 

Te, me, de, ve, re. 

Grains in a bushel. 

The man who counted the grains of wheat and 
rice in a bushel, 

Kept his rice. 

Ke, pe, te, se, re, se. 
Grains in one ton, or 2,000 pounds. 

Tozvns have barber shops but in the country 
No chum shaves us so. 

Ne, che, me, she, Ve, se, se. 
Divide the whole number of grains by these dif¬ 
ferent proportions, and we find that it contains in 
Pounds. Pound the rogue , we have. 

No locks; officer; lock him up; chew charcoal. 
Ne, le, ke, se, fe, se, re, le, ke, me, pe, che, 
che, re, ke, le. 

Bushels, bush man , 

Run for sugar; no half pay boy reward. 

Re, ne, fe, re, she, ge, re, ne, fe, pe, be, re, re, de. 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


37 


Tons. Large towns are not made by a 
Wooden hovel, race union, fish pie fame. 

De, ne, ve, le, te, se, ne, ne, fe, she, pe, fe, me. 
Which would be worth at $i the bushel. See 
key word “ bush man." 

Load canal boats at 40 tons. 

If I owned the whole and one would sink , I 
would 

Mind my loss like a taker. 

Me, ne, de, me, le, se, le, ke, te, ke, re. 
Load vessels at 300 tons. 

The captain of the ship would make a servant boy. 
Run for sugar; navy pie. 

Re, ne, fe, re, she, ge, re, ne, ve, pe. 
Which would make as many loaves, at one pound 
each, as, see Pound the rogue. 

Which would feed the population of the globe, or 
1,000,000,000, at one pound a day, or 365 pounds a 
year, for each as long as 7,043 years, 209 days. 

Gas room and newsboy. 

Gn, se, re, me, & ne, se, be. 


CHAPTER VI. 


ILLUSTRATIONS IN MENTAL GYMNASTICS. 

As already stated, the process of exercising the 
memory so as to fix and retain numbers, dates, and 
figures, to any desirable amount, is so plain and easy 
that the mind is at once interested, and the exercise 
becomes a pleasant and agreeable task, and the bene¬ 
fits are incalculable. 

An incident will illustrate this. A short time 
since the author met a friend in a bookstore, and 
while looking at a copy of the revised version of the 
Bible, said, u 1 can commit to memory, in a few 
hours, every page on which the books of the old 
Testament commence;” and in about three hours the 
task was accomplished, and these numbers are easily 
retained in memory. Not only were the pages on 
which the book commences committed but the num¬ 
ber of chapters in each book, by the following 
process: 

First, we must find some word as a link by which 
we get the name of the object. These link words 
are always printed in italics to impress them upon the 
mind. In some instances the matter is so plain that 
we do not need a link word, as in Genesis. 

We know that Genesis commences on the first 
( 38 ) 



LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


39 


page, but in getting the number of chapters the book 
contains we must have a key word, and these key 
words stand alone so as to distinguish them from the 


sentence from which we get them. To get the nuiii- 
ber of chapters in the book of Genesis we remember 


This book gives the account of our Loss, 

Exodus: This gives an account of the journey 
of the children of Israel, and we can 
easily imagine that they have no Road, 

And when Pharo pursued them they were 

on a Race, 

Leviticus: Levi takes the priesthood with a Gush. 

And would not take the poor man on his Nag> 
Numbers: No bars can keep away the Dust, 

Nor keep one from a Mash, 

Deuteronomy: Do it for the law is Adamic, 

Keep it and be Merry, 

Joshua: Jo shoe a horse to make the 


Head Shake, 

And he will be a Winner, 

Judges: A judge of music would not play on a 

Hot Fife, 

He might lose his Wind, 

Ruth: Gleaning amongst the reapers was Unsafe, 
But had no fears from an Arrow, 

I Samuel: When Samuel first went to the 

house of Eli he was Needed, 

But had to live without a Mate . 


40 LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


II Samuel: The second time he was called he 

found he had nothing to Umnake. 

And took one from the Owner. 

I Kings: Saul, the first king from David, had 

No Help. 

With all his power he found himself a Ninny. 

II. Two Kings , when crossing Jordan, had 

No Ferry. 

But hung their garments on a Nail. 

I Chronicles: One crown on a nickel would be 

rather Massive. 


But not on a 


Knob. 


II Chronicles: Two chronic kings in their 

schemes May Miss. 

Yet men will do them Homage. 

Ezra: Israel had wounds he could not Mollifyfe. 

He left them in the Woods . 

Nehemiah: No hymn I know would make his 

Home Jewish. 

For he came from the race of Adam • 


Esther: A stir was made because Mordecai sat 

at the gate S?noking. 

And this for Haaman was a bitter Dose. 

Job: Job’s friends made him a MufiFy Home. 

But he looked at it as Irony. 


Psalms: The psalmist did not play his 
with a 

As all who heard him could see him 


harp 

Rasp. 

Hatless. 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 41 

□ 

Proverbs: The book of proverbs was the 

King’s Organ. 

Because he gave many a pious Motto. 

Ecclesiastes was a preacher while David was a 

Harder. 

Because he had much Twine. 

The Song of Songs: This long song was not 

played on an Air Pipe. 

Nor for a Fee. 

Isaiah: This prophet was an All~seer. 

As from his writings we may Judge. 

Jeremiah: Cheer a man that gives you an Alarm. 

Especially if you are Alone. 

Lamentations: A lame man cried loud and 

long like a Hill Fife. 

On a Hill. 

Ezekiel: Is he killed? Then put his name in 

your Album. 

And do not treat him Rough. 

Daniel: Done well in the lions’ den as a Jamer. 

He kept the lions Down . 

Hosea: A house of worship is a Church. 

With a large Door. 

Joel: Joel in solitude is like a Jew Alone 

Yet he may be at Home. 

Amos: A muss is not good for a ^ Jeweler. 
Where things are thrown into a Pie. 


4 2 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


Obadiah: O a bed is better to sleep on than a 

Shelf. 

But when you lie down take off your Hat 

Jonah was as nauseating to the whale’s stomach 

as a dose of falap 

And he was no Hero. 

Micah: Transparent mica is not as good to 

write on as a few Sheet. 

Yet it may be tough as Oak . 

Nahum: No ham would please him as well as a 

• few Cherry. 
Which he might find at Home. 

Habakuk: He would have a cook that would 

prepare his meals Jewishly. 

In his own Home. 

Zephaniah: So fne a prophet would prefer a 

boot jack to a Shoe Jack. 

To use it in his Home. 

Haggai: High Gears look like a few fob. 

But not so sweet as Honey. 

Zachariah: So carry your burthen like a 

fack Ass. 

Though heavy as a Deer. 

Malachi: Mai treatment makes many a one go 

Gogging. 

And dragging like a Harrow. 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


43 " 


The foregoing is only intended to illustrate the 
manner of forming short sentences containing link 
and key words upon which the memory fastens, and 
from which it transfers itself to other words that may 
have some correspondence with the link words, and 
give the word that contains the proper numbers. 

It is quite likely that some will object to this and 
regard it as a round-about-way of getting at the word 
containing the number. But a fair trial and exper¬ 
ience will soon convince the most skeptical that this- 
process of linking one class of words with others, has 
a marvelous effect, on the memory by giving it 
strength and vigor. 

The words we are sometimes compelled to take 
may appear simple and ludicrous, but even this will 
enable the memory to retain them better. 

We are not arranging choice words arid elegant 
sentences, but memory shelves and hooks on which 
to lay or hang our words and numbers, so as to have 
them at a moment’s notice. 

To make this perfectly plain we give some illus¬ 
trations from the preceding formulas: 

The word Exodus at once gives the idea of a 
journey—of the wilderness, where there was no road. 
The word road gives 41 for the page. Now it is- 
very plain that when Pharo pursued them, they were 
on a race/ this gives the figure 40. Levi takes cor¬ 
responds with Leviticus, no bars with Number, and 
so on through the list. 

By carefully looking over the formulas again you 
will see how one thing hitches on to another, so as to 
make the chain complete. 


44 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


We can present numerous illustrations to show 
the advantages of this system of fixing numbers in 
the mind by words that are not easily forgotten. 
Forty years ago the writer lived in the city of Balti¬ 
more, and was requested to call at No. 75 Argyle 
alley at a meat market, and the meat market sug¬ 
gested the idea of killing, and the word kill was 
fixed on, which gives 75, and this has remained in the 
mind over forty years. 

Some time since a young lad, going to school, 
complained of a poor memory. When asked to re¬ 
member the number of a watch which was 3985, he 
said he could not retain this number in his memory. 
I told him to remember that when the girl scrubbed 
the kitchen she made the mop fly. This he could re¬ 
member without the least difficulty, and this word 
mop Jly gives 3985. Now these little associations 
would at once commence to strengthen his memory, 
and by following the rules laid down in this work, 
he will soon be able to recollect anything he may 
wish to store away in his memory. 

As a convenience for reference from the formulas 
giving the pages where the books of the Bihle com¬ 
mence and the number of chapters in each book, we 
give the figures, as all Bibles are not paged in the 
same way, and it will be good exercise to get the 
figures from the formulas or words, and then refer to 
these figures to find them correct, 


Books. Pages. Chapters 

Genesis... 1 .. 50 

Exodus. 41 . 40 






LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


45 


Books. 

Leviticus. 

Numbers. 

Deuteoronomy 

Joshua. 

Judges. 

Ruth. 

I Samuel. 

II Samuel.... 

I Kings. 

II Kings. 

I Chronicles.. 

II Chronicles. 

Ezra. 

Nehemiah .... 

Esther. 

Job. 

Psalms. 

Proverbs. 

Ecclesiastes .. 
Song of Songs 

Isaiah. 

Jeremiah. 

Lamentations. 

Ezekiel.. 

Daniel. 

Hosea. 

Joel. 

Amos. 

Obadiah. 

Jonah . 

Micha. 

Nahum. 

Habbakkuk .. 
Zephaniah ., . 

Haggai. 

Zachariah.... 
Malachi. 


Chapters. 

.. 2 7 
.. 36 

•• 34 

.. 24 

21 

.. 4 

•• 3 1 

.. 24 

.. 22 

•• 3 5 

.. 29 

.. 36 

.. 10 

•• J 3 
10 

.. 42 

.. 150 

•• 3 1 

12 

.. 8 
.. 66 
•• 5 2 
•• 5 

.. 4 S 
.. 12 

.. 14 

•• 3 

.. 9 


4 

7 

3 

3 

3 


H 

4 


Pages. 

76 

IOI 

*37 

167 

188 

208 

211 

237 

259 

284 

3 °s 

33° 

353 

366 

377 

383 

4°9 

47 2 

494 

499 

5°4 

543 

588 

593 

634 

646 

6^2 

654 

658 

659 

661 

664 

663 

667 

669 

670 

677 












































































CHAPTER VII. 


MISCELLANEOUS ARTICULATIONS. 

In which some brief words give large numbers, 
and long words small numbers. 

1. Woody, widow, headway, heath, hood, hide, 
ahead, weighty. 2. Honey, knew, own, now. 3. 
Haymow, home, my. 299. Nabob. 412. War¬ 
den, ordain, retain, written, harden. 841. Virtue, 
^overdo, afraid, fright, freight, Friday, forehead. 851. 
Flight, field, fluid, fled, vailed. 859. Flap, flop, 
flip. 941. Bird, bright, proud, parrot, breath, brute, 
bread, abroad, board, part, party. 950. Policy, 
pulse, plus, bliss, please, hopeless, palace, applause 
951. Plod, plate, build, blood, pallet, ballot, behold, 
ability. 1014. Destroy, twister, duster, toaster. 

1421. Tornado, adorned, trinity, eternity, trained, 
tyrant, hydrant. 1491. Torpedo, tribute, tripod, 
thereabout, water-pot, turbid. 1514. Dilator, idol- 
ator, dilatory, delighter. 1714. Educator, doctor, 
together. 1801. Headfast, deficit, defaced, divest, 
devised, diffused. 901. Debased, deposed, deposit, 
deepest. 2140. Notorious, indorse, nitrous, wond¬ 
rous, inodorous. 2142. Unitarian, undrawn, en- 
thrown. 2480. Nervines. 2482. Nervine. 2500. 
Analysis. 2585. Unlawful. 2712. Nicotine. 2723. 
46 ) 



LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


47 


Nickname, 2739. Encamp. 2744. Enquirer. 2810 
Invidious. 2844. Inferior. 2870. Infix. 2874. 
Invigor. 2895. Enfeeble. 2911. Unpitied. 2942. 
Inborn, unborn. 2951. Unbolt. 3014. Moisture. 
3023. Misname. 3052. Muslin. 3058. Himself. 
3068. Mischief. 3071. Mosquito. 3078. Mis¬ 
give. 3095. Misspell. 3105. Mudsill. 3114. Imi¬ 
tator. 3141. Matured. 3142. Modern. 3156. 
Mythology. 3169. Midship. 3186. Mud-fish. 
3209. Mince pie. 3212. Monotony. 3247. Mon¬ 
archy. 3245. Mineral. 3256. Hymnology. 3262. 
Mention, moonshine. 3276. Monkish. 3297. Mo¬ 
ney-bag. 3321. Moment. 3340. Memorize. 3374. 
Mimicry. 3395. Mumble. 3405. Morsel. 3412. 
Meridian. 3418. Mortify. 3432. Mormon. 3470. 
Marquis. 3495. Marble. 3510. Melodious. 3517. 
Homoletic. 3540. Mill-race. 3601. Majesty. 
3720. Meekness; 3275. Mongolia. 3726. Mag¬ 
nesia. 3728. Magnify. 3741. Emigrate. 3745 
Mackerel. 3940. Impress. 3943. Emporium. 3947. 
Embark. 3953. Emblem. 4034. Rosemary. 
4075. Rascal. 4107. Heartsick. 4134. Redeemer 
4149. Wardrobe. 4150. Artless. 4175. Article. 
4177. Earthquake. 4213. Random. 4264. Ranger. 
4286. Hornfish. 4391. Armpit. 4751. Haircloth. 
4848. Riffraff. 4885. Revival. 4921. Urban¬ 
ity. 4947. Rubric. 4960. Rapacious. 5012. 
Hailstone. 5072. Eelskin. 5090. Allspice. 5157. 
Lady-like. 5197. Lady-bug. 5204. Lancer. 
5264. Lounger. 5394. Lumber. 5701. Laxity. 
5727. Laconic. 5742. Alcoren. 5891. Alpha- 


48 


LESSONS ON MEMORY. 


bet. 6049. Jewsharp. 6161. Chit, chat. 6245. 
General. 6264. Ginger. 6425. Journal. 6791. 

Jacobite. 6952. Chaplain. 7062. Oxygen. 7070. 
Excuse. 7071. Exact. 7091. Exhibit. 7094. 

Expire. 7103. Egotism. 7109. Catsup. 7115. 
Cat-tail. 7129. Kidnap. 7174. Category. 7175. 
Cat-call. 7212. Canadian. 7270. Equinox. 
7275. Kingly.- 7284. Confer. 7375. Comical. 

7401. Crest, grist, crust, corset. 7404. Grocery, 
grazer, grocer. 7408. Aggressive. 7409. Grasp, 
crisp, crossbow. 7411. Graduate, greeted, courted, 
credit. 7420. Greenhouse, cornice, grains, eager¬ 
ness. 7424. Grainer, corner. 7427. Crank. 7439. 
Crimp, cramp. 7454. Growler, crawler. 7456. 
Girlish. 7460. Gracious. 7471. Correct. 7487. 
Graphic. 7485. Gravel. 7495. Grapple. 7503. 

Gleesome. 7509. Clasp. 7512. Gladden. 7524. 
Gleaner. 7526. Clannish, clownish. 7531. Calu¬ 
met, climate. 7544. Clearer. 7546. Clergy. 7547. 
Clerk. 7548. Glorify. 7550. Guileless. 7569. 
Coal-ship. 7584. Glover. 7611. Cogitate. 7697. 
Cashbook. 7715. Cocktail. 7741. Go-cart. 7743. 
Cook-room. 7750. Goggles. 7794. Cow-keeper. 
7854. Cavalry. 7918. Captive. 7941. Copyright. 
7954. Cobbler. 7970. Cow-pox. 7997. Copy¬ 
book. 8014. Faster. 8018. Festive. 8081. Phos¬ 
phate. 8084. Phosphor. 8130. Ofttimes. 8145. 
Vitriol. 8216. Vintage. 8274. Vinegar. 8322. 
Feminine. 8350. Fameless. 8354. Familiar. 
8401. First. 
































































































































































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